The Standard Model of Particle Physics and Quantum Mechanics give us a plausible reason why particles are what they are while Einstein theories give a reasonable answer to the question regarding why they come together to form planets stars and how they move in relation to each other.
For example both Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity define existence in terms of a space-time geometry. However it only defines the forces it encompasses and not how they come together to create space or as John Wheeler put it “Matter tells space how to curve. Space tells matter how to move.”
But this does not tell us what space is made of it only tells us how matter interacts with it to cause it to move in the space-time environment defined by him.
Granted it is possible in the abstract mathematical world of Einstein’s theories to fully define an environment without addressing the question as to why it is there as he seems to have done. However his theories are based on a universe where cause and effect rule. Therefore if they are valid one should be able to define why it exists in terms of those parameters.
However Einstein also told us that in a space-time environment there is a causal link between mass and energy defined by E=mc^2 and space. For example converting energy to mass causes the curvature in space-time to increase while changing mass to energy causes it to decrease.
This suggest that their maybe a causal link between mass and the existence of space.
However it is difficult to form a clear picture of how mass can interact with time to create space because as was shown in the article “Defining what time is” Sept. 20, 2007 most view time not in terms of the physical properties of space but as an irreversible physical, chemical, and biological change in it. Therefore it is difficult to understand how these abstract properties of change can interact with mass to create the physicality of the world we live in.
However Einstein gave us the ability to solve this dilemma and develop more direct understanding of how and why mass can interact with the physical geometry of our universe to form space when he used the equation E=mc^2 and the constant velocity of light to define the geometric properties of mass in a space-time universe. This is because that provided a method of converting a unit of time in a space-time to unit of space in four *spatial* dimensions. Additionally because the velocity of light is constant he also defined a one to one quantitative correspondence between his space-time universe and one made up of four *spatial* dimensions.
This makes it possible as was shown in the article “Defining energy†Nov 27, 2007 to derive all forms of motion caused by mass, in terms of a physical displacement in a “surface” of a three-dimensional space manifold with respect to a fourth *spatial* dimension.
In other words one can use Einstein’s theories to redefine how and why mass can tell space how to curve and how space tells matter how to move based exclusively on the physicality most associate with space instead of non-physical properties of time.
However this also provides a way of understanding why space is here in terms of an interaction between matter and energy defined by Einstein.
For example when the air in a balloon is cooled it becomes more concentrated the magnitude of the curvature in its surface increases and its volume decreases while heating it causes it to expand resulting in decreasing its curvature and increasing its size.
In other words the balloon owes its existence and structure to the dynamic forces of the air pushing its two dimensional “surface” towards a third dimension because if they were not there it could not maintain in physical structure.
Similarly Einstein theories tell us if mass is converted to energy the magnitude of the curvature in space-time and the strength of the gravitational field associated with it decreases while converting energy to mass causes an increase in the curvature of space-time and the gravitational field associated with it.
Yet as mentioned earlier it is difficult to form a clear picture of how three-dimensional space can interact with time to form the structural boundary by which the dynamic forces of energy and mass can push against to causes its curvature to change because of its abstract properties.
However one can develop a much clearer understanding of how the dynamic properties of mass and energy can interact to create the physical structure of space if one redefines Einstein space-time universe as was done earlier to its equivalent in four spatial dimensions.
For example as mentioned earlier the structure of a balloon is the result of its two-dimensional membrane or manifold restricting or preventing the air in the balloon from moving freely in the third spatial dimension.
Similarly the “surface” of a three-dimensional manifold would present a barrier for all things made up of mass from moving freely in to the fourth *spatial* dimension because they are three dimensional objects.
However it also gives one the ability to form a physical image of why space is there in terms of the energy contain space pushing on the “surface” of a three-dimensional manifold causing it to expand towards a fourth *spatial* dimension.
In other words similar to a balloon when energy becomes more concentrated in the form of mass the curvature in the surface of space increases and its volume to decreases while making it less concentrated by changing mass to energy causes it to expand resulting in decreasing its curvature and increasing its physical size.
Thus suggests that space exists because of a interaction of mass and energy with the physical geometry of our universe.
It should be remember these same concepts can applied to universe consisting four dimensional space-time because as was shown earlier Einstein gave us the ability to define the physical relationship be energy, mass and the geometry properties of space in terms of either its spatial or time properties.
In other words the existence of three-dimensional space depends on the energy pushing the “surface” of a three-dimensional space manifold towards a higher fourth dimension which can ether be made up of time or another spatial dimension.
It should also be remember that the reason for this article was not to define the what space is made or what its geometry is only why it is here. Those questions will be answered in future articles.
Later Jeff
Copyright Jeffrey O’Callaghan 2015